


Clearing the Air

by elixb3



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:02:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26196829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elixb3/pseuds/elixb3
Summary: A fix-it fic between Max and Mike where they come to terms about the Mileven breakup and why Max felt the need to intervene.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield & Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Comments: 36
Kudos: 35





	Clearing the Air

It was two months in after the event at Starcourt Mall and Mike still wasn't easing up on the frostiness towards Max. She understood it, of course she did if someone had tried to break up her and Lucas she'd be pissed as well, but she wasn't going to apologise for it. What was that phrase El loved so much, friends don't lie? Well to say Max regretted what she did would be a lie and would therefore be an even bigger betrayal to El than the mildly inconvenient breakup that barely lasted a couple of days. That's not to say Max's actions came from a place of malevolence, quite the opposite her intentions were completely pure unfortunately no one else seemed to understand it. But Max was sick of the hostility which led to her current predicament of trying to sneak quietly out of Mike's basement door.

It was regular Friday night movie night a couple weeks before the Byers (and El) were set to move so the Party had tried to make the most of it. They'd put in an old tape and eaten so much candy that some people *ahem Dustin* were practically vibrating from the sugar. Unfortunately even in the warm confines of the cosy basement Max wasn't able to escape the chill of Mike's rejection towards her presence. She knew he had only invited her because otherwise it would raise too many uncomfortable questions in the Party if she didn't show (that and Max hoped her boyfriend would jump in to protect her and Mike just didn't want to face Lucas who could totally pound his ass). Still, it stung and made her feel like she'd taken one giant leap backwards right into November before the return of El. Contrary to popular belief Max actually liked Mike; he was incredibly loyal and had proven on more than one occasion that he was willing to risk his life for her and the others. Sure he could be a pain in the ass, his stubbornness and temper clashing terribly with hers but that's what made their arguments so much more invigorating. They were two sides of the same coin but Max wished that just for once he could be more like Lucas and catch onto her wavelength.

Her watch told her it was 4:03am and Max huffed in frustration. Everyone was piled across the floor in blanket covered heaps all snoozing pleasantly. Everyone that is except Max. They all had nightmares, of course they did they were traumatised, yet most found peace surrounded by the familiar walls of Mike's notorious basement. Usually Max would be the same, anywhere that wasn't her house offered her the promise of an undisturbed slumber, but Mike's coldness towards her seemed to have seeped into her subconscious and stirred up the unwelcome darkness in her mind.

She extracted herself from beneath her sleeping bag, the canvas squeaking as she wriggled free. A quick glance told her no one had been disturbed but she quickened her pace when pulling on her hoodie and trainers. Navigating her way towards the door was a challenge all in itself. The pale square of moonlight that shone through the window pane not nearly enough to help Max climb over bodies and avoid furniture and rustling chip bags.

She finally made it through and escaped around the side of the house. Mrs Wheeler's shrubs grew in neat little rows along the small link fence and Max wriggled into the space between them. The cool night was a refreshing breather from the stuffy basement that smelt overwhelmingly of teenage boys.

"Will?" Max stilled as a sleepy figure stood waiting by the wall. Something akin to dread and shame trickled through Max as she realised it was Mike. "I know you're there. Is it about —" Deciding she'd heard enough incase what Mike was about to finish was private Max interrupted him.

"I'm not Will." She saw Mike stiffen in the gloom and felt a sharp stab of resentment that was quickly shoved down.

"Oh. It's you." Max could practically feel her temper simmering beneath her skin at Mike's flatness.

"Nice to see you too." Max thought he rolled his eyes but she couldn't be sure.

"Don't let the cold air in when you're done doing whatever."

"I didn't want to hurt you y'know." She called out as he turned away. He stopped but didn't face her. "I was just trying to protect her." A bitter scoff followed before he shook his head and carried on walking away. Not feeling satisfied with the ending of the conversation Max jumped to her feet and chased after him. "I'm serious Wheeler. I'm not going to apologise —"

"No of course you're not." He hissed, she skidded to a stop as he halted in his tracks. They were mere feet from the basement door and he cast it a wary look before continuing in a hushed tone. "Look Max I get that you and I have had our issues but do you see me attacking Lucas? No. You crossed a line."

"I didn't use her to get back at you!" He shushed her and they both eyed the door. "I'm serious Mike I wasn't using her."

"Oh really. So you weren't smirking when El broke up with me? And you didn't laugh at me afterwards on the bus?" Max shifted guilty and Mike barrelled on. "Just admit it you got jealous because you and Lucas aren't working out and so you needed us to feel just as miserable and useless as you do. He told me all about your breakups. Are you seriously that insecure that you need the constant validation of his affection just to prove that someone wants you? Because that's a pretty pathetic way of calling for attention just to try and justify your worth." Max recoiled feeling as though she'd been punched in the chest.

"Fuck you!" She spat and Mike flinched at the venom behind it. "I was trying to help! Get it through your thick skull I wanted to protect her!"

"Protect her from what?" He almost roared.

"From you!" Max returned with an equal vigour. Mike staggered as if he'd had the wind physically knocked out of him. "Asshole." Max muttered and Mike felt colour rushing to his cheeks as his temper spiked. He was prepping himself for another explosion when Max beat him to it, her words tumbling out like rapids in the river.

"You just don't get it! Everything's perfect for you except that Upside Down shit! You've got a decent family, loyal friends, the house at the end of the cul-de-sac and your dream girl! But life isn't like that! It's not perfect and people hurt each other." She threw her hands up in frustration. "Sometimes people hurt you without realising and mostly it's done by people you don't know but sometimes it's done by those you do." She stopped to draw in a breath and Mike was alarmed to see tears glistening in the faint starlight.

"It's always worse then." She stumbled over the lump in her throat and Mike felt panic jump wildly in his stomach. He was not equipped to deal with crying girls, especially those who he'd never even thought could cry. "Because it's the people you trusted never to do that to you and the betrayal is far worse than any physical pain because it just hurts so fucking much. And you don't want to believe they're capable of it so you run back to them like an idiot and you let them do it over and over, believing their stupid promises that it'll never happen again but it always does and it always hurts!" Mike felt like they were straying into dangerous territory.

"Are you saying you thought I'd abuse El?" His tone was incredulous and he was seconds away from just running back into the house and locking the door, leaving Max to have her breakdown far away from him. He wondered if Lucas knew his girlfriend was insane.

"But you were!" Max said, the cry half strangled as she tried to reign in her emotions. Only a couple of tears had fallen but it was enough for Max to angrily swipe her face and scowl at how weak she was. "You were so controlling. You and Hopper restricted what she could and couldn't wear, you gave her a biased outlook on the outside world and you made sure she had zero social life. You were emotionally manipulating her! Making her completely dependent on you!"

"That's not true!" Mike defended hotly.

"Yes it is!" Max insisted. "She wasn't allowed the freedom to be her own person, it was like you and Hopper were trying to stuff her into this mould that you thought she should be!" Mike shook his head and Max almost screamed with frustration. She caught herself though with a glance at the still shut basement door. "When we were at the mall —"

"Which you shouldn't have been at." Mike interjected. "The bad men are—"

"Gone Mike. The bad men are gone. They weren't at the mall, they weren't at the pool and they weren't even at the accident despite the mysterious circumstances. They're gone!" Max shouted, working herself up.

Meanwhile in the darker confines of the basement Lucas was rubbing his knuckles into his eye sockets in an effort to wake up. Something had jolted him from his sleep and evidently the same had happened to El. She sat cross legged in her blanket fort with a tiny frown. "What was it?" Lucas asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Mike and Max are talking." El whispered.

"Talking or shouting?" Lucas grumbled. Both strained to hear anything else but it was quiet. "Should we check on them?" Lucas asked but El shook her head.

"They've been talking a while." She said, picking at a loose thread on her sleeping bag.

"Anything interesting?"

She shrugged. "I can't hear the words only the noise." Lucas nodded blearily.

"We should go back to sleep." He mumbled, laying down before promptly doing just that. El smiled amusedly before she too lay back down, rolling over and curling against her pillow. She was lulled into unconsciousness, praying that her best friend and boyfriend would be able to work out their differences.

Outside Mike had shushed Max, positive he'd heard something inside. When the noise failed to persist he looked back at the slightly crazed redhead preparing himself for another tirade. Thankfully Max seemed to have gotten herself back under control. "You're not a bad guy Mike." She said softly and Mike was so shocked he almost fell over. "I'm serious. You're loyal and hardworking and so very smart, not that I'll ever admit this again," Mike was unable to fight a weak smile, "but you need to know the difference between infatuation and a crush, between obsession and love." Finally Mike was starting to understand what Max was saying. "Loving El means allowing her the freedom to love herself first." Mike looked at Max in the faint light, like really looked at her. He didn't see the snarky fourteen year old who ruled the arcade and made stupid bets with his friends, instead he saw someone older with eyes that for the first time were vulnerable. He'd seen her upset and angry and sobbing over the body of her dead brother but this was the first time she was truly open. Her eyes were the windows to a broken soul, exposed like a nerve with a darkness behind them that made Mike want to curl up and cry.

With immense difficulty he managed to tear himself away. "But you weren't even friends with El." He mumbled, the argument half-assed and lacking any real conviction. Still Max flinched.

"No one deserves to be neglected or abused." She whispered and the weight behind her words was not something Mike wanted to unpack. Instead he let out a heavy sigh and rubbed at his face tiredly.

"It's late." He said. "We should go back in and get some sleep." Max nodded in agreement, her walls already sliding back into place and Mike felt the tiniest flutter of guilt. "Thank you." He blurted out and her eyes snapped up to meet his. "For looking out for El." He elaborated. "You could've just talked to me though." He said, "Or just done it differently." Max shook her head.

"I think the break was good for you, you both needed the space." She said and Mike scoffed.

"Agree to disagree Mayfield." He said, his tone lighter as he offered her a hesitant smile. She gladly returned it and turned to go back inside. "I never really welcomed you to the Party." Mike said, making that final leap to try and bridge the gap between them. "So I guess uh welcome to the Party." Max was unsuccessful at hiding her grin.

"You'd be lost without your zoomer." She said.

"Whilst I highly disagree I believe that's an argument for another night." Max nodded in agreement, failing to suppress a yawn, and both slipped back into the basement taking care not to wake the others.

Both fell asleep with small smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of people hated Max for encouraging El to break up with Mike so I wanted to write this to show the kind of thought process Max was probably going through based off of her past experiences and home life. I think she spotted the warning signs that her mother ignored and wanted to help El avoid a situation like hers. 
> 
> Leave kudos and comments and let me know what you guys think. You can also find me on tumblr under @ lilcactiarmy ;)


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